Saturday, October 29, 2016
It had to end.
We knew it had to happen so the sadness was no surprise as it clawed it's way into the morning. After spending another good day yesterday visiting the Rogalin palace, the art gallery there and then later going to cousin Wioletta's house to visit her and her family, we came back home and Joan prepared duck breasts for dinner. Oh, and we also stopped at a cemetery so Karen could get a small glimpse of what Nov. 1st will look like at night with the candles lit. There were enough of them burning to make her realize how beautiful that day will be on Tuesday.
It has been a very emotional week for all of us, especially for Joan and Karen. The opportunity to sp time with her daughter was the best medicine for Joan. They had the chance to reconnect without having to deal with husbands or kids and they needed that. I tried to stay out of the way as much as possible but as the driver/guide/live-in husband, I wasn't always successful. Still, they had time to be alone, to shop together, to talk, to hug, to laugh and just to communicate face to face and that was the most important thing. I am so happy Karen was able to make the trip to us. I am positive her attitude and thoughts of Poland are different now then when she first arrived. We showed her the best things we could like a palace, a castle, the cathedral, beautiful churches, the rynek, a drive through the countryside, good restaurants and she even met some family members. She really liked Wioletta and they exchanged email addresses. I hope they will stay in touch. Karen said she would like to come back next year with her daughter, Nikki. I filled a pendrive with all of the pictures and videos I made while she was her so that she will have a way of showing her family the places and people she met here. I am sure she will view the video of her surprise arrival many times in the future.
Yes, it is a little sad now but the joy of the last week is much greater and I am happy to have been part of it. As you read this, Karen, you know how loved you are by your mother, and me, and this is the greatest gift of all.
Wiedzieli艣my, 偶e to musia艂o si臋 zdarzy膰 tak, smutek nie by艂o zaskoczeniem, poniewa偶 odzyska艂a to jest droga do rana. Po sp臋dzeniu kolejny dobry dzie艅 wczoraj odwiedzi膰 pa艂ac Rogalin, Galerii Sztuki tam i potem idzie si臋 do domu kuzyna Wioletta by j膮 i jej rodzin臋 odwiedzi膰, wr贸cili艣my do domu i Joan przygotowuje piersi kaczki na kolacj臋. Aha, i r贸wnie偶 zatrzyma艂 si臋 na cmentarzu, tak Karen m贸g艂 dosta膰 ma艂y przeb艂ysk tego, co 01 listopada b臋dzie wygl膮da膰 w nocy z o艣wietlony 艣wiecami By艂o ich wystarczaj膮co du偶o pali, aby jej u艣wiadomi膰 sobie, jak pi臋kne, 偶e dzie艅 b臋dzie we wtorek.
To by艂o bardzo emocjonalne tydzie艅 dla nas wszystkich, szczeg贸lnie dla Joan i Karen. Okazj膮 do czasu sp z c贸rk膮 by艂 najlepszym lekarstwem dla Joan. Mieli szans臋 na ponowne po艂膮czenie, nie maj膮c do czynienia z m臋偶ami i dzie膰mi, a oni potrzebowali tego. Stara艂em si臋 trzyma膰 z dala od drogi jak najwi臋cej, ale jako kierowca / przewodnik / live-in m臋偶a, 偶e nie zawsze by艂o udane. Mimo to, nie mieli czasu, by by膰 sam, sklep razem, porozmawia膰, przytuli膰, 艣mia膰 si臋 i po prostu komunikowa膰 si臋 twarz膮 w twarz i to by艂o najwa偶niejsze. Jestem tak szcz臋艣liwy, Karen by艂 w stanie odby膰 podr贸偶 do nas. Jestem pewien jej postawy i my艣li o Polsce r贸偶ni膮 si臋 wtedy, kiedy pierwszy raz przyjecha艂. Pokazali艣my jej najlepsze rzeczy mogliby艣my jak pa艂ac, zamek, katedra, pi臋kne ko艣cio艂y, Rynek, jak je藕dzi膰 po okolicy, dobre restauracje i nawet spotka艂em kilku cz艂onk贸w rodziny. Ona naprawd臋 lubi艂 Wioletta i wymienili adresy e-mail. Mam nadziej臋, 偶e b臋d膮 one pozostawa膰 w kontakcie. Karen powiedzia艂a, 偶e chcia艂aby wr贸ci膰 w przysz艂ym roku z c贸rk膮, Nikki. Wype艂ni艂em pendrive ze wszystkich zdj臋膰 i film贸w wykonanych podczas I by艂a ni膮 tak, 偶e b臋dzie ona mie膰 spos贸b pokazywania jej rodzina miejsca i ludzi pozna艂a tutaj. Jestem pewien, 偶e ona b臋dzie zobaczy膰 film z jej niespodziewanym przyje藕dzie wiele razy w przysz艂o艣ci.
Tak, jest to troch臋 smutne, ale teraz rado艣膰 z ostatniego tygodnia jest znacznie wi臋ksza i ciesz臋 si臋 by膰 cz臋艣ci膮. Jak mo偶na przeczyta膰, Karen, wiesz, jak jeste艣 kochany przez matk臋 i mnie, i to jest najwi臋kszym darem dla wszystkich.